GRÜNER IS LIKE THE ILLEGITIMATE LOVECHILD OF PINOT GRIS AND RIESLING - WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE?
FOOD MATCH
Grüner loves stong flavours and spice so try it with something like sticky pork belly bao buns with hoisin sauce and cucumber and spring onions. Or try prawn and chive dumplings with chilli oil and black vinegar
WINEMAKERS NOTES
Grüner Veltliner is a cool climate wine originally from Austria. Jules describes it as "the illegitimate lovechild of Pinot Gris and Riesling"!. One of the reasons that we’re making it is to stretch our wings, to see if there is life after Sauvignon Blanc. The initial results suggest that there might be.
AROMA & FLAVOUR
Fragrant jasmine and stonefruit white peach aromas combine with subtle notes of citrus, red apple, honey and white pepper. The palate boasts delicious flavours of mandarin and lemon, cantaloupe melon and white peach. These also a hint of the classic Grüner white pepper flavour. This is a fine, concentrated wine with
a lovely textural element from the wild fermented portion alongside crisp acidity and a long, refreshing finish.
VINTAGE NOTES
The season started frosty and unsettled, however, temperatures quickly warmed up leading to an early, quick flowering. The last substantial rainfall of summer was on the 17th of December and after that Marlborough dried out. This wasn’t obvious early in January as ash drifting across from Australia meant there was a lot of cooler cloudy weather to keep the vineyards green. However, the season warmed up heading into February, meaning the grapes went through veraison in very good, clean condition. In the last week or so the nights cooled off, allowing extra time for flavour development heading into harvest. On Monday 23rd March, as we were handpicking our first grapes, we heard that New Zealand was heading into lockdown for a month. Thankfully, harvest could continue as long as all workers met strict criteria. The weather played its part superbly and continued mild, dry conditions meant that the fruit was harvested in perfect condition. Apart from the stress caused by virus and its unknown effects on operations, the actual harvest was a breeze with fruit being harvested in some of the best condition we have ever seen. The last fruit to be picked was harvested on 6th April and brought the most surreal vintage anyone has experienced to a close for the Jules Taylor Wines team.
VINIFICATION
This year our Grüner Veltliner grapes were 100% hand-harvested from a single vineyard in the Wairau sub-region of Marlborough. The fruit was whole bunch pressed with the free run juice being and cold settled over 48 hours and then fermented cool and slow in a stainless steel tank to retain the vibrant aromatics. This approach contrasted with the handling of a second portion which was pressed directly into old French oak for a wild ferment followed by a partial malolactic fermentation. Soon after fermentation the two components were blended together before being bottled and sealed with a screw cap to maximise freshness.
